Rome has emerged as the first European city to confirm that it will host a race in the FIA Formula E electric car championship. Mayor of Rome, Gianni Alemanno, made the announcement on 1 December 2012, alongside President of the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), Jean Todt, Formula E Holdings CEO, Alejandro Agag and Chairman of the Italian Automobile Club, Angelo Sticchi Damiani. Commenting on the news, Alejandro Agag expressed his thanks to the Mayor and the city authorities for “their enthusiastic welcome and support” and said that the FIA is "…. honored to have Rome on board as the first European city to host Formula E, since Italy is renowned for its motorsports passion, expertise and technical innovation.”

The announcement from Rome follows the news, in August, that Rio de Janeiro would host a Formula E race in 2014. The 2014 inaugural Championship is expected to involve ten urban races in total and further city announcements are expected shortly.

McLaren recently announced a joint venture with Spark Racing Technology (SRT), a new company led by Frederic Vasseur, to design and build the powertrain for the first Formula E cars. FIA technical regulations for the Championship, which will be an ‘open’ championship, are due to be published soon and other car designers and constructors are encouraged to build a Formula E car. 42 cars have already been ordered from SRT for the 2014 Championship.